Colombia | Birding the Atlantic Coast and Santa Marta Mountains

Upon arrival in Barranquilla, after clearing customs and collecting your luggage, you'll be met and taken to your hotel. This is an arrival day and no meals are included. Check-in starts at 3 pm.

After an early breakfast and program orientation, head to the area known as KM 4 to begin the day's birding in the mangrove habitat of Salamanca National Park. The wetlands of this area provide habitat for numerous species of shorebirds. Target species will include Bicolored Conebill, Pied and Russet-throated Puffbirds, Stripe-backed Wren, Caribbean (Pale-legged) Hornero, Turquoise-winged Parrotlet, Glossy, White, and Green Ibises, Yellow-chinned Spinetail, Large-billed Tern, Sapphire-bellied and Sapphire-throated Hummingbirds, and more. Have lunch at a local restaurant before driving four to five hours to Riohacha. Check in at the Taroa Lifestyle Hotel, the first "Wayúu Lifestyle Hotel" in Colombia; the hotel is staffed by Indigenous Wayúu people, and every space in the hotel is inspired by Wayúu culture, which is represented in their weaving, ceramics, flora, and gastronomy. (Elevation: Sea level / Accessibility: Rural, unpaved road / Temperatures: 82-86 °F.)

Today, visit Los Flamencos Sanctuary and focus on the wetlands and shorebirds. Los Flamencos Sanctuary is an important coastal wetland and dry forest reserve created to protect a large population of the American Flamingo. Best time to travel to see flamingos is from December to late April and July to late August. Largest numbers are present from October to late November but they are present year round. This 17,000-acre reserve of marshes, lagoons, and dry forest also provides habitat for 185 other bird species, 80% of which are migrants. Spend some time birding the dry scrubland for specialties such as the Tocuyo Sparrow, Chestnut Piculet, Pearl Kite, Aplomado Falcon, Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Burrowing Owl, Green-rumped Parrotlet, Brown-throated and Blue-crowned Parakeets, Red-billed Emerald, and Buffy Hummingbird, among others. Afterward, visit the village of Camarones, where we will learn about the Wayúu Indigenous people. We will have a chance to meet with our local guide's family, visit their home and learn about their arts and crafts, especially the handmade, colorful bags known as mochilas. Have lunch at a local restaurant at Camarones Beach then search for some key species like the Vermilion Cardinal, Orinocan Saltator, Blue-crowned Parakeet, Buffy Hummingbird, Chestnut Piculet, Bare-eyed Pigeon, White-whiskered Spinetail, Glaucous Tanager, and Tawny-crowned Pygmy-Tyrant. (Elevation: sea level / to sea Accessibility: easy, pavement roads, flat areas of beach sand, precaution with Cactus is a xerophytic zone. / Temperatures: 82 - 96 °F.)

After breakfast at the hotel, check out and travel to Santa Marta with birding en route. La Guajira Peninsula is among the country's most arid regions, and as a result, low-growth shrubs and spiny trees dominate the landscape; these sub-xerophytic conditions help maintain the unique diversity of species. The dry forests in La Guajira are distributed in territories belonging to the Wayúu. The trails are basically sandy walkways in between shrubs and stocky forests, swamps and some creeks, which are dry much of the year. Enjoy lunch in a local restaurant en route to Santa Marta. Check in at the beachfront hotel and spend time at the beach or birding in the surrounding area. (Elevation: Sea level / Accessibility: Rural, unpaved road / Temperatures: 82-97 °F.

Depart early with birding along the way to Minca in the humid tropical forest. Minca sits in the low-elevation foothills of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, where a dry forest ecosystem predominates across the ridges. Above the village, the premontane forest mixes with coffee crops to create habitat for many local and migratory bird species, including the Golden-winged Sparrow and Black-backed Antshrike, which tend to be difficult to find in other regions of the country. Arrive in time to have lunch at Mountain House followed by birding around the lodge in the coffee fields and forest. This evening, enjoy an amazing sunset from the balcony of Mountain House with a full view of the hummingbird feeders, tanagers feeders and others. There is also the possibility of parrots, oropendolas,and toucans around the lodge in the highest trees. Key species today are: Santa Marta Blossomcrown, Santa Marta Tapaculo, Santa Marta Sabrewing, Crested Bobwhite, White-tipped Dove, Green Violetear, White-vented Plumeleteer, Collared Aracari, Golden-olive, Black-backed Antshrike, Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher, Cinereous, Masked Tityra, Black-chested Jay, Brown-capped Vireo, Crested Oropendola and Thick-billed Euphonia. During the northern winter months these foothills harbor a good number of North American breeding migrants including Swainson's Thrush, Yellow-throated Vireo, Tennessee, Golden-winged, Cerulean, Blackburnian, and Black-throated Green Warblers, Rose-breasted Grosbeak and Summer Tanager. (Elevation: 2295-6565 feet / accessibility: unpaved roads, loose rocks, downhill paths / Temperatures: 57-71°F.)

Spend today exploring the San Lorenzo Ridge. The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the highest coastal mountain range in the world, is home to an incredible 20 endemic species, which account for 27 percent of the endemics in the entire country. Search for as many of these species as you can find along the altitudinal gradient of the San Lorenzo Ridge. Return to the lodge for lunch then search for birds on the road near the lodge. Some of the species that you may hope to find in the Santa Marta Mountains include the Santa Marta Parakeet, White-tailed Starfrontlet, Rusty-headed Spinetail, Brown-rumped Tapaculo, Yellow-crowned Redstart, Santa Marta Warbler, Black-backed Thornbill, Hermit Wood-Wren, White-tipped Quetzal, Band-tailed Guan, Band-tailed Pigeon, Red-billed Parrot, Masked Trogon, Golden-olive Woodpecker, Yellow-billed (Groove-billed) Toucanet, Emerald Toucanet, Montane Foliage-gleaner, Spotted Barbtail, Streaked Xenops, Gray-throated Leaftosser, Strong-billed Woodcreeper, Rusty-breasted Antpitta, Rufous Antpitta, Mountain Elaenia, Black-capped Tyrannulet, Venezuelan and White-throated Tyrannulets, Olive-striped Flycatcher, Black-throated Tody-Tyrant, Cinnamon Flycatcher, Yellow-bellied Chat-Tyrant, Golden-breasted Fruiteater, Orange-billed and Slaty-backed Nightingale-Thrushes, Great Thrush, Black-hooded Thrush, Slate-throated Redstart, White-sided Flowerpiercer, Blue-naped Chlorophonia, and many others. (Elevation: 9185 feet elevation / Accessibility: unpavement roads, loose rocks, downhill path / Temperatures: 42 - 57 °F.)

Spend the morning birding in the El Dorado Natural Reserve, located on the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, inside a matrix of cloud forests. The reserve sits in a transitional zone between lower mountain forests and higher cloud forests, creating a confluence of species from both areas. It is the perfect place for hiking and searching for endemic species over the mountains or to simply sit and enjoy the birds that visit the feeders overlooking the Caribbean Sea on the foothills of the range. The reserve is known for its incredible feeders for hummingbirds (some of which are endemic), tanagers, guans, and wood-quails. Return to the lodge for lunch then search for birds on the road near the lodge. Targets today include the Santa Marta Foliage-gleaner, Hermit Wood-Wren, Black Hawk-Eagle, Red-billed Parrot, Brown Violetear, Keel-billed Toucan, Greenish and Forest Elaenias, Social and Piratic Flycatchers, Rufous-breasted and Rufous-and-white Wrens, Brown-capped Vireo, Rusty Flowerpiercer, Streaked and Olive-gray Saltators, Yellow-bellied Seedeater, Crested Oropendola, Thick-billed Euphonia, and more. During the northern winter months, these foothills harbor a good number of North American breeding migrants, including Swainson's Thrush, Yellow-throated Vireo, Tennessee, Golden-winged, Cerulean, Blackburnian, and Black-throated Green Warblers, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and Summer Tanager. (Elevation: 5,900 feet / Accessibility: moderate to challenging; rocky, sometimes steep, unpaved road; hiking trails along the reserve / Temperatures: 60-75 °F.)

Spend a final morning birding around El Dorado Reserve before starting the descent toward Santa Marta, with birding en route. We will have have lunch in Minca and then continue in our bus to Barranquilla, with more birding en route. (Elevation: 2295 - 6560 feet / Accessibility: unpaved roads, loose rocks, downhill path / Temperatures: between 57 - 71 °F.)

This morning, check out and head to the airport in Barranquilla for early afternoon flights back to the U.S. Check-out is at 1 pm.